Page 99 of Sun Warrior

Hear me, small one,Death whispered to the wounded canine.

The canine’s attention shifted inward as the Terrier suddenly found the thread that connected him with Death.

Yes! That’s it! Hear me, small one. Open to me! Your wound has made us close! Now, let us grow even closer.…

Death could feel the canine’s consciousness retreating fearfully from Him, fleeing to Thaddeus as he sought comfort from his Companion.

And that was when Death struck.

The God followed the canine’s deep and mystical connection with his Companion directly to Thaddeus’s mind. Once there, Death carefully, gently, probed—and was instantly rewarded by the knowledge that this mortal’s mind hungered for one thing beyond all else: power. Which meant Thaddeus was ripe for Harvest.

You can have more,Death whispered to the Hunter.You deserve more. All you need is power.…

“We need more power!” Thaddeus’s sharp voice echoed back to the God as Death listened to Thaddeus lecture the men gathered around him. “If we’re going to build the Tribe back to what it used to be, we need more power.”

“What kind of power do you mean, Thaddeus?” a man asked.

“Leadership! The only kind of power that counts,” Thaddeus said.

“That’s already happened,” said another man. “You’re the Leader of us, your Hunters, now.”

“I’m not talking about just being Lead Hunter,” Thaddeus said. “I’m talking about Leading the Tribe.”

“Sounds good, but it’ll never happen,” said the first man. “Not as long as our Companions are Terriers and not Shepherds.”

Death felt the surge of anger that flooded Thaddeus.Yes, you should be angry,the God prodded.Embrace it! Accept it! Use it! And don’t let them tell you what you can’t do.

“Stop telling me what I can’t do!” Thaddeus’s anger exploded around him.

Into an uncomfortable silence, another Hunter spoke up.

“Uh, Thaddeus, I heard that some of the people are saying we need to do what that Scratcher girl said—swear that we won’t take captives anymore and grant her safe passage so that she can heal our wounded.”

“That bitch is the reason the fire started and the reason Odysseus is wounded. If she comes back here it should be at the end of a rope.” Thaddeus spit the words at them.

Yes,Death murmured.

“But she can wield sunfire. How do we force her to do anything?”

You can force her if you have more power,Death whispered.

“Let me figure that out—that’s what a leader does,” Thaddeus said.

That’s right,Death said.All you need is more power.

“She may have called down sunfire, but she’s a Scratcher. And a woman. I’ll take care of that bitch.”

Yes!Death goaded.Yes-s-s-s-s-s.…

The God quickly became bored as Thaddeus continued to bluster and pontificate, and His attention shifted, turning inward. Searching… searching… searching…

Always searching for his sleeping Consort.

He found her so swiftly that it surprised Him. She was there, just at the edge of His consciousness. The Great Earth Mother, giver of Life, His eternal lover, reclined on her side in the center of a moss-carpeted grove. Her naked skin was the color of moonlight. Her dark hair was a glistening river of silk that poured past her smooth shoulders to wash around her waist. Her breasts were full and perfect. Her eyes were closed in sleep, and her lips curved up, as if he’d caught her in the middle of a sweet dream.

My Consort! How I have missed you!Death said.

Ah, my love. I hear Your voice outside my mind, but cannot find You in my dreams. You no longer sleep?